Al-Mutawakkil al-Muhsin (died July 29, 1878) was an Imam who claimed the Zaidi state of Yemen in 1855–1878, in rivalry with several other contenders and with the invading Turks.
Ottoman troops intervened in highland Yemen in 1849 but then withdrew, leaving the remains of the Zaidi state to its own devices up to 1872.
It was only in 1860, however, that the tribes close to San'a heeded his claim; the tribesmen feared the growing power of the Isma'ili Makramah polity, which was heretic from the Zaidi point of view.
[4] In the next year, an agreement was made whereby al-Mutawakkil al-Muhsin was mentioned in the Friday prayer, leaving administration largely in the hands of the governor.
After the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, the Porte feared increased British influence in the southern part of Arabia.
Al-Mutawakkil al-Muhsin withdrew to Haddah south of San'a where he rallied support to fight the Turkish occupiers.
Al-Mutawakkil al-Muhsin refused to give up resistance and continued to create trouble for the Ottoman governance until his death in 1878.